I point you to greece.....it sucks to be a gamer there.

xCLAVEx

Check this thread out.........damn greeks!

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthre...eadid=33633964

Sourcer_2002

Thats just stupid it wont last long though

JavaFox

The big thing I don't like about European Union and Europe in general (I can't remember whether or not Greece is a part of the EU) is their apparent disregard for freedom. From my American point of view, Europe scares me. Hate speech is outlawed in some countries. European takes on Internet privacy frankly scares me. And now this. It scares me that Westerners don't seem to understand the Western ideals of freedom from which the United States borrowed heavily.

JavaFox

Relevant links:

http://english.cri.com.cn/english/2002/Feb/49692.htm
http://iafrica.com/easymoney/newsfeatures/996848.htm
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/ne....asp?aid=17011

GREEKRAGE

Well since i live here ill give you the info:

First this whole stupid idea came out cause in the last 3-4 years alot of people have lost fortunes on the illegal fruit machines (one arm bandits or slots) that came in the
form of a dual bios arcade console that would switch from a plain vid game to an electronic or video slot machine.(via a simple car alarm remote as big as a keychain)
These machines in less than a year were everywhere you could imagine (poolhalls,bars,cafeterias or any gaming parlor) and we are talking in the tens of thousands.
Now all this that was happening was either covered up local authorities or ppl just didnt speak up.

So one day some ppl decided to alert the media(reporters etc) and one particular reporter named Makis Triantafilopoulos started Talking about it on air in his weekly show.
Well all i can say is.......the shit really hit the fan.
We had alot come to the public eye like : high ranking officials caught on tape playing this stuff and even good cops
that were transfered for trying to clean it up.
Then some of the victims started to crawl out of their holes demanding both justice and their money back.
All this was going on for months revealing alot of corruption and a government that was powerless to handle the sitiuation.
So finaly the started to act but ...
In a previous law it was stated that the police would no longer be handeling these type of crimes but the Income tax officials.
So all they could do was go store to store and confiscate the machines and give them a fine for cheating on their income tax.
Also the biggest problem was that there wasnt enough people to do this task so alot of games kept on going since it took forever for them to be found or as soon as the machines were taken away ...new ones would be coming in the back door.
Well im not going to really go into details cause there are milions of them so
ill come to today were this law was voted by a summer (skeleton crew) commity and
hasnt really come into effect yet .
It was voted in a panic and im sure wont pass cause its plain stupid and elections are near...if you know what i mean.

But im serious when i say that this type of gambling was a big problem and alot of people even lost their homes and a few even chose suicide as way out of the dept they got into.
The fact that they are trying to ban games came from the damn internet cafes that
also allowed customers to gamble online or had those roms from the video slots on the PCs ment for gaming or browsing.

Greece has the biggest problem of trying to fight technology with people that are to old or havent been trained to do so.
So the only way they thought they could solve this problem was to ban all gaming instead of fighting back WITH technology.

Its really sad how the international press laughs at this story when they dont even know how this problem effected real people.

Well thats my version of this story.

kinetic

10-1 his mates call him Mak!

ByteMe

With as stupid as that country is I am surprised they just don't walk into the sea like the lemming bitches they are.

GREEKRAGE

Lol a gambling joke......LMAO

but they dont actually....pay up !!!

maki is short for mihalis and in english ....mike..

GREEKRAGE

Actually ByteMe im gonna agree 100% with you on that comment.

You should read some of the shit we go through and have so since these criminals got into the government..........but i guess people just love this sadistic party.

BTW i vote for the damn democrats but they are pussies so far.

Smoothdrive

Lol..you really don't no sh#t about Europe..It differs from country to country..but for sure we are equally (in some cases) to much more (in most cases) free than the Americans. You talk about hate speech..well look at your own brilliant system..your tv programs and even songs are full of censorship.. wow we are free but we can't say shit on tv and can't say fuck in a song either...there's much more examples...land of the free..yeah sure...dream on and be happy guys

About the greece thing..really really weird..i was wondering why i did not see any arcades when i was on Crete on holiday..this sure explains it
We have people addicted to gambling..our government just made it a rule that gambling machines are outlawed from certain places (snack-bars, bars, restaurants) and are only allowed in approved places that have a permit. If someone destroys his or her life over it..well it's just like alcoholism..not nice but they bring it upon themselves and they can get help if they want to

edit : OMG i couldn't even say it in the forum

Ryoko

sure you can, you just have to know how

(and this is a u.k. forum anyway )

JavaFox

I think that you are the one that doesn't know shit about anything, Smoothdrive. Obscenity is a public forum is not protected speech. Not all speech is free either. The eternal "yelling 'fire!' in a theater" example comes to mind. But the fact of the matter is, while we censor our publically broadcasted speech and songs, I can still publish a song that says "My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge / To stab you in the head / Whether youre a fag' or les'!" I can write a book called "Why Chinese People Are Inferior to Whites." Right now, I can pull up the Ku Klux Klan's website. You can do none of these things in Germany, because it would be illegal. That's freedom?

How about in England, where the Official Secrets Act (link) prevents people from "[...] [disclosing] any information, document or other article relating to security or intelligence which is or has been in his possession by virtue of his position as a member of any of those services [...]." What services, do you ask? Either a person "a member of the security and intelligence services" or a person "notified that he is subject to the provisions of this subsection"! Do you know what this means? This means the British government can prevent the discussion of intelligence or security related concerns by ANYONE IT CHOOSES! Not only that, but this law has been abused horribly! This law was used to squelch discussion of Princess Diana's death! That's freedom!

You know what else is JUST great? The French have a law called the "Fabius-Gayssot Law" that makes it illegal to contest the validity of "crimes against humanity as defined by the Nuremberg Tribunal of 1945-1946." You can go to jail from anywhere from a month to two years in prison and be fined simply for saying "The Holocaust was exaggerated." In France, it is illegal to have an OPINION on the crimes of WWII!! I love it! European freedom is truly the crème de la crème of the world!

You know what else is great? The Swedish Data Act, which severely restricts the usage of databases containing personal information! Do you know what the Swedish did in 1978 with this law? Well, according to the Data Act, databases storing religious or political information can only be used under specific circumstances. So, early BBSs --not totally unlike the forum you're posting on right now-- could not discuss political or religious issues and had to specify what kind of information they contained. Do you see how broad, vague laws can be used to supress free speech? Under the Data Act, practically all of the Internet is illegal, as it contains private information (this forum, for example, has my city of residence stored) and hasn't been cleared with a Swedish governemental agency.

Did you know that, in Italy, blasphemy is still illegal? Two months ago the Italian government closed several websites, stating that they "blasphem[ed] Catholicism [...] and [made] offensive statements about the Madonna." (link)

So, generally, Europe doesn't seem to know a damn about free speech, the Internet, or anything about the vaunted "seperation of church from state" -- yet America is the one without a clue?

So the next time you post about how the concept of God is stupid, remember that you could be prosecuted for it in Italy. Glance through the FlameZone -- see ByteMe's post containing racial slurs? That's illegal in Germany. Under English law, this site could be shut down for talking about anything from Britain's stance on Iraq to the incompetence of MI5. Under the Swedish Data Act, it can be deemed illegal for us to post our own names, religious beliefs, or political views.

Think about that.

ByteMe

Do you really need to bust his balls with all those facts like that? I think a simple yo'moma would of done. Although it wouldn't of pointed out what a moron smoothdrive is or how most europeans are just stuck-up inept lame excuses for a human being.

Either way, both of you are as useful as a mint-flavored suppository.

reno

Right on Javafox! Plus, yo-mama smoothdrive.

Now for some scarier facts than all of this...I'd get into the details but it's late and my book is downstairs...

From 1985-1995 private corporations in America gave over 1.8 million dollars in campaign funds to republicans.

From 1990-1995 the US government gave those same private businesses over 40 Billion Dollars worth of no-interest loans and tax-breaks.

From 1972-1992 there was a little known law making it illegal for children aged 0-12 go hungrey for one meal in public institutions.

From 1992-2000 welfare was drastically cut to save an approximate 50 million due to lower tax income (correlated to the 40 billion they lost to big business?), state mandates were passed allowing only one peanut butter sandwich (300 calories) and one half-pint carton of milk (100 calories) to be served to public schoolchildren without the $1.80 to pay for a normal meal, estimates state that nearly 20% of american youth aged 0-12 can not afford school lunch and are fed this way. 98% of those youth find their only meal at public schools.



I love my country, but these facts will most likely never change. Big business perpetuates their reign by weeding out the under-class...of those 20% of children in poverty, I can tell you that almost all will resort to crime as a job or die by their teenage years. If only governments couldn't be corrupt! (look at the german CDU and SPD, what corrupt assholes!).

Smoothdrive

lol..we're back on the old us-europe thing again..

Why the hell do you refer to Germans ? Don't tell me you're the kind of stupid Americans that think Amsterdam is in Germany..or even worse the "Amsterdam is a small country near the Netherlands" bit

The kind of freedom you're reffering to is the kind of freedom that allowed Hitler to get into his seat. That's not the kind of freedom i would like to have.

Question..why is it that if America is sooooo free, that al of their kinky websites get published from Amsterdam ? Why is it that all Americans that visit here are amased at the freedom people have here ? (we can't do that in America we'ld be busted straight away )

merry

From my European point of view, America scares me. Can you define terrorism sharp enough to distinguish fundamentalists - or whatever - from collateral victims?

Would you accept to die in a European bombing because your government, say, upset the EU by treating inadequately some minority? Altghough you never approved of that? Happened to a few Yougoslavians.

Or is this from being used to "hands on the car and spread'em" because you were speeding?

Is it really scarrier (is there such a word?) to risk being prosecuted for farting in public than to play the old lady down the stairs while Mr. President bombs the Criminals?

JavaFox

Why, then, doesn't the KKK rule the United States? I'll tell you why -- free speech is a double-edged blade. On one hand, it lets opinions out that you may not agree with. But it also brings wrong beliefs to light. We wouldn't know that Nazism is wrong unless we knew about Nazism. And simply not talking about it is the not solution.

You know what, though? You know what REALLY set the stage for the atrocities of WWII? The anti-Semitism and rallying speechs of Hitler let him convince the people to let him take control of Germany, but do you know what really let him rum amock? Appeasement. English Prime Minister Chamberlain and various French leaders like Daladier. They GAVE into Hitler, giving them their blessings while he seized lands like the Sudentenland. European leaders stood by while the Nazis annexed Austria. They watched while Mussolini conquered Ethiopia. And they didn't do SHIT about the bloody Spanish Civil War.

You know what, at the risk of sounding like a bigot -- don't Europeans learn? The United States has bailed your asses out of two WORLD WARS and yet Europe still hates us and Europeans still can't see why pre-emptive strikes against Iraq would be a good idea?! Appeasment and weak-willedness really worked well in WWII, didn't they?


Freedom and drug abuse are not the same thing. In America, we are free to think and say what we wish. The majority of Europe has no such freedom.

Smoothdrive

Actually my country was liberated by the Canadians in the 2nd WW and was not involved in the first, so no yankee doodle i'm so good in this case

As for the strikes, my country supports them
As for hating America, we don't hate America

I'm wondering how on earth is the police gonna check what i think ??

And yeah you're probably right, we should have a crowd like the KKK here that kill negro's for fun..who cares about all those negro's that where beaten up, molested and killed anyway right.

The reason the KKK doesn't rule Amercia is that they don't have the money to buy themselves into the white house, unlike Bush.

Back on topic, i developped some brain activity over the weekend, yes it did hurt a little, and remebered something.
I was on Holiday on Crete last year and they did have arcade's there, so plenty of video games in public rooms on Crete..last time i checked Crete was still Greece.

GREEKRAGE

Yeah buddy your right about vid games then... but the removal of arcades consoles
was done during this spring when all hell broke loose.
So if anyone does see any machines in greece beware and stay the hell away from them as you can be arrested just for playing it.

As for the law like i said on other posts :
Noone has been arrested for no reason so far.
An arrest took place a couple of days ago of
some persons play CS (i think) but they did so in a NetCafe that was already warned by authorities.(probably had other types of gaming also).

And as i was talking to a manager of a leading PC chain he said that selling games etc. is not forbiden(weird.. you can buy but cant play it).

Remember this :

First the law will be forgotten by Christmas also the NEW law against public smoking
will come into effect 01/01/2003 and thats when the shit will hit the fan...LMAO.
Now thats where the Gov.. is gonna make the real cash...lol

Renegade[CSR]

There is something funny to that microsoft is doing...They are offering a trip to greece for gamers...Think microsoft is trying to send a message to the Government in Greece?

Smoothdrive

No there trying to get evryone with an illegal copy of a microsoft game in jail in greece..lol

GREEKRAGE

This just in ::

yesterday 2 people were arrested for breaking the new law.
These 2 people owned a NetCafe each and were arrested cause they didnt shut down.

Well it went to court and guess what??....they were cleared of all charges
because their Deffence proved the law to be unconstitutional (in other words the law was illegal....lol).

Well you can see what will happen to this law from now on as anyone can use this court decision in other similar cases.

JavaFox

It is great to know that the government of Greece has some clear-thinkers. Hurray for the power-sharing nature of democracy!

Kelsenellenelvian

I am glad that you don't have to be closet gamers.

Kagato